Energy demand rises with increasing complexity of the social unit and with an increase in the activity of that unit. This formal hypothesis, and specific substantive hypotheses related to it, will be tested with information from a representative sample of households in Camden, New Jersey. Most of these households are part of a panel that has been interviewed three or four times over the past five to ten years. Thus, we will have material for both cross-sectional and time-series microsociological analyses. The "same" hypotheses will be tested using macrosociological time-series measures based on aggregate indicators of the social and energy characteristics of Camden County. The relations 1. between the cross sectional and time-series analyses and 2. between the macrosociological and microsociological analyses will be examined in the light of intermediate level organizational measures. These mediating structures will be studied through participant observation in the community and interpretation in the light of substantive theories of energy and society (including our own). Dependent variables of the study are measures of energy consumption in the household and in household related transportation. Independent variables include measures of the size, structural complexity and culture (e.g., family authority, stability and consumer behavior) of the households and measures of cognate characteristics at the county level (e.g., level of productivity, political participation, mix of small and large cars). The results will contribute to an empirically based theory of energy/transportation/society relations. This model will help predict the factual consequences of various energy policy alternatives for metropolitan areas and offer considerations for evaluating the social equity of those policies.